New name, new start

I started writing another blog entry about 2 weeks ago which obviously didn’t get finished or posted. Now it seems too out of date to post as it was about the end of term and sports day etc. I had some nice photos as well. Oh well.

I’ve decided to change the name of the blog. Now, I’m not sure if changing the name will mean that anyone who try’s to look at my old blog name will still be able to find it. If you’re reading this via the old blog name then you obviously can and phew!! Otherwise I’m talking to myself. As usual!!

So, it’s the school holidays. If your children go to school then I hope you’re enjoying the holidays. If your children are home educated then you’re probably cursing the fact that everywhere you normally go in term time that’s usually quiet is now full of kids.

We haven’t done a great deal. We never do. I suspect if you go back 12 months I was probably saying the same thing this time last year. We used to plan to do various things then be annoyed with ourselves when the holidays finished and we hadn’t done any of them. So now we don’t bother. Our only plan is to go out and buy all the new school uniforms we need. And shoes. That’s a fun day out!!

One day I decided it would be a good idea to make play dough so cooked some up. J loved it. He spent hours and hours playing with it so the next day I decided to make some more in a different colour. He said he wanted multicoloured play dough so I made green, pink and yellow for him to go with the blue from the previous day. I didn’t have any yellow food colouring so used turmeric instead. It was a lovely shade of yellow but smelt horrible so I added some orange essential oil to it. It still smelt horrible but orangey.

Unfortunately I didn’t realise quite what J meant when he said he wanted multi-coloured play dough. Now if you have children and you’ve given them more than one colour play dough at the same time you’ll know exactly where I’m going here. J added the four colours together in one lump which looked really nice for about 5 minutes and then, yep, it turned that horrible shade of brown that play dough goes when mixed together. Why did I bother?? They played with it for quite a few more hours and now it’s back in the cupboard (drying out no doubt!!) And on the carpets, the rug, the throw I crocheted, their clothes….

I’ve also been on a cleaning and tidying frenzy which is a school holiday tradition in this house. However, something in me has changed. I don’t know how, I wasn’t looking for a change, I’d given up wishing that I could be the kind of person to keep the place tidy, to wash up, keep the kitchen clean etc etc but something has clicked in me. I don’t do washing up. I don’t clean up after myself when I’m cooking. I leave it to C to do that. Well, not any more. Other things that I have wanted to change in the past seem to have suddenly happened as well. I know it’s early days and in a few weeks time I could be posting to say how fed up I am that I’ve gone back to my old ways but for now I am enjoying being the new me.

Most of the house is clean and tidy. I still need to do the lounge but it’s one of those jobs that needs the boys out of the way and by the time they’ve gone to bed we can’t be bothered.

We’ve even sorted out the garden which is one of those things we never get round to doing. We’re not gardeners. We’re not really outdoor types. And when you’re trying to keep on top of things in the house (and usually failing!!) plus have lots of children it’s just not a priority. But we spent two afternoons out the back and tidied it up, got rid of some stuff, pressure washed the patio and concrete areas and mowed the grass. The patio slabs are in fact white. Something which surprised J and A so much they thought it had snowed overnight and wanted to go and play in it.

I should have taken before and after photos. I never do thinking that there won’t be enough of a difference but there always is and then I kick myself. We also had a lovely surprise when we dismantled what was supposed to have been a raised bed last year. We’d planted potatoes in it but they didn’t perform and we had about 4 spuds from it which weren’t even enough for us all to have half of one each. So we moved the bricks to the side of the garage and pulled out whatever it was that was growing in it. That “whatever” turned out to be potatoes. Enough for dinner!!! Who knew they were so simple to grow??? Not us anyway.

We’ve also been unwell this last few weeks. Not all of us at the same time. Craig’s been ill for the whole time, and the rest of us for a couple of days at a time. I have no idea what it is. It’s not the dreaded swine flu, far too mild for that, but as I say, no idea what. I’m hoping that whatever it is has now passed us by and we’ll be well enough to enjoy the rest of the holidays.

I finished the changing mat for the bag I made and am quite pleased with it. The mat is a layer of Amy Butler, two layers of Killington and a layer of BKT. It took me back to my nappy making days - I’d forgotten just how much I love Killington and BKT, so lovely and thick and soft. I may have to make myself a pair of Pjs from the killy.
































I started a pair of Lucy Neatby socks with an interesting twist pattern on them. I’m having problems with motivation on them though so they may take a while to finish. I've got as far as the heel on the first one.

I’m also still crocheting the blanket with Noro Kureyon. I have about 8 more balls to go to finish it off so I’m aiming for one a day in the hope I can get it finished in the next fortnight.





















I’d really like to make a quilt with a jelly roll I got from one of the co-ops I’m on (not buying anymore, I promise. I’m just waiting for some stuff to arrive from when I was naughty and then that’s it. Honest!!)

Anyway, that’s it for now. Hope the weather where you are is better than it has been here and that you’re enjoying the summer.

I’ve been having another one of my clearouts. Quite a serious one by all accounts. I love getting rid of stuff, unfortunately I also seem to love accumulating it. I’m really hoping that I am managing to change my way of thinking and will stop buying so much stuff. A lot of things I buy because I like them. I don’t think about where it will go, if I really need it or if it will really get used. I like it so I buy it. It’s stupid and I’m really hoping I can break the habit. I quite like the feeling of seeing something that I like and want to buy and not buying it, stepping away from it. Rather tellingly I can’t remember what I have done that with. Just goes to show how much I really wanted it doesn’t it???

I’m also one of those people who can’t choose between things. If I see several things I like rather than choosing one I’ll go for all of them. Which fabric design shall I buy? All of them. Which of the three shades of lipstick? All of them. Again, it’s got to stop.

I’m hoping to clear a lot more stuff out of the house over the summer. Hopefully as stuff goes I will enjoy the space it’s creating and want to rehome more. Already I have started getting rid of the storage I’ve had to buy for all this stuff and the feeling of space it’s creating is lovely.

I’m crocheting a blanket at the moment and I know I need four more balls of wool for it. Normally I would just buy them, but instead I had the bright idea of asking on ravelry if anyone had the shade I needed and if they’d be willing to swap for some other wool I have. Lo and behold, yes there was someone happy to do that so my 4 balls of shade 159 are currently on their way to Australia and hopefully my 102 are on their way over here - it’s cheaper to send them to Australia than to buy more.

I have finished the changing bag. I’m really pleased with it. I did have to undo a few bits because they weren’t quite right and I knew it would annoy me too much not to go back and do them properly. I added a magnetic snap onto it to keep it closed as well. My only complaint about the pattern is that if you put the bottle pockets in where it says to put them you’re sewing them onto four of the main pockets in such a way that they are useless, so I didn’t put mine in. I did sew them together though to make another little bag to go inside it.

I haven’t made the changing pad/bag yet. I’ve cut them out and am using BKT and killington. I’d forgotten how much I love both fabrics, cutting them out took me back to my nappy sewing days. I’m very tempted to make a bed set out of the killington for the winter because it would be soooo lovely and cosy. Or maybe I’ll just make myself some Pjs.

We’re now into our final week of school for this academic year. I am really looking forward to Friday. It will be so nice to be able to put away the uniforms and lunch boxes for 6 weeks and just relax.

In other news, Barney is sleeping through the night!! He goes from about 8pm to 7am and it is lovely. I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel!! I am still sitting with him in the evenings as the baby monitor doesn’t work, although Beth sometimes sits with him instead.

A busy week ahead for us. Hope yours is a good one!

I’m writing this sat on my bed listening to the rain pouring down outside - a sound I love. My night-time routine has turned into one where I put the baby down in his cradle next to my bed and sit with him as he goes off to sleep. The plan tonight is to leave him once he is sleeping but for the last four nights I’ve just sat and done my online stuff next to him.

I’m sure some of you reading are probably horrified that I’m no longer co-sleeping but you know what, I have to do what’s best for my family and co-sleeping isn’t it. Now both Craig and I can relax and sleep properly without the natural fear of rolling onto him and because we’re not so tired that we’re constantly in a bad mood the other children aren’t being shouted at so much. Admittedly, the fact I have insomnia at the moment doesn’t help me, but hopefully that will pass soon. Barney sleeps so much better as he’d not being disturbed by us and he is so close to me he can still touch me.

We’ve actually done some things since I last posted. Ellie had her prom on Saturday. The invitation said ball gowns were welcome but not compulsory - I was quite happy with Ellie’s choice of dress, it was just a nice smart sundress, nothing fancy, but then on Saturday morning I started worrying about what if she was the only one not in fancy clothes?? It turned out she wasn’t the only one. I didn’t see all the girls, but the ones I did see were wearing party clothes. Phew!! I’m so pleased, they’re only 11 for goodness sake, but I guess Lincolnshire is still behind the times when it comes to proms!

My plans to get her hair done went slightly awry when Robbie decided to stand on a rusty drain cover with no shoes on in the chicken pen and fell into it cutting hit foot open. Off we went to A&E where he had stitches in it and a nice bandage. On the way out it started bleeding again so we went back in and they couldn’t see where the bleeding was coming from so they dressed it again and it was fine.

I ended up with 20 minutes to do her hair (and a bit of - very subtle! - make up) and get her there. Luckily she wasn’t the last to arrive and her date (her best friend for the past few years) had some flowers for her - his mum’s idea. Aww, how sweet.

Craft wise I haven’t done much at all. I finished cutting out the pieces for the changing bag and started on the sewing but I could really do with an hour or so of peace and quiet to really get on with it. I also have a crochet blanket on the go which is my car project that I take with me to do the school pick up. I can’t remember if I’ve already mentioned I go 10 minutes earlier than I need to just so I can sit and crochet (or knit depending on what I’m doing) for a while in the peace and quiet.

I’ve just finished reading a book I borrowed from my friend Pippa called “Raising a vaccine free child” by Wendy Lydall. If you’ve ever been unsure as to whether or not to have your child vaccinated then I recommend it (as well as a book called something like “The Truth About Vaccines” by Dr Richard Halvorsen), it’s also a good one to read if you’ve decided not to vaccinate and need reassurance that you’ve made the right decision.

I’ve also recently read a book called “The Thirteenth Tale” by Diane Setterfield (I think), it was a really good read. I’ve started a lot of books recently that I’ve had to dump before I finished them because I just didn’t like them but this one was one of those you don’t want to get to the end of. I don’t believe in finishing a book if you’re not enjoying it, life is too short to waste reading something that you don’t like, there are too many good books out there you might miss out on. I also loved “The book thief” - can’t remember the author of that one - that was one of those ones you can’t put down and feel sad that you’re almost at the end of it.

We’ve got quite a busy time until the end of next week and then it’s the school holidays. My calendar is empty from next Friday and it’s great!!!

The weather here has been really lovely recently. I have to admit not liking it when it’s too hot outside but fortunately our living room is usually fairly cool in the summer. I don’t know if this has anything to do with it being an old house?

Today the temperature display on my car read 33 degrees at one point! Even my air conditioning was struggling to keep us cool. One of the feeds I subscribe to is for the met office weather warnings and for he last two weeks or so I’ve been getting a daily warning of heavy rain but so far it still hasn’t happened and the forecast is really good until the end of the week when we will apparently get some rain.

One of our chickens has gone broody again - she does it every year and it usually lasts several weeks. Normally it doesn’t bother the other hens but for some reason this year it does seem to have put them off laying in the nesting box. They must be laying somewhere but we have no idea where - one disadvantage of having birds that like to get out of the pen and wander freely. It’s probably down in the dyke between our house and next door but we don’t fancy getting down there to look so we’ll never know. It’s a bit of a nuisance though as I have a bit of a thing going with a couple of friends where I give them eggs and they give us lovely fresh veg from their gardens. Last week we had some gorgeous strawberries, cabbage, broccoli and lettuce. I’m looking forward to seeing what I’m going to get tomorrow for my half dozen eggs (should have been a dozen but as I say, I have no idea where the others are).

Tomorrow is a big day for Ellie - she’s spending the day at her new school. I think she’s quite excited about it. I still can’t quite believe that’s another one of my children going up to big school. As they like to say on that awful programme “Me too” - where did the time go???

And talking of Me Too - does anyone else think that Tina looks like a man in drag??

I know the cute/funny things your child says are never as cute/funny to anyone else but I’m going to share this one with you - Sophie was telling me the other day that she is “only going to have 5 children”. It made me laugh that to her 5 isn’t many whereas to most people it’s loads.

No photo again today I’m afraid. I will try and post one next time.

I’ve done it again - gone a while without posting.

Not a great deal has happened mind you. My memory is so bad I can’t actually remember what I did last week. The weekend was a quiet one with a rather disastrous walk that ended prematurely due to our stupidity in allowing the children to take various ride-ons/bikes. Note to self - next time we go out the children must leave everything at home!!

On Sunday C took 5 of the children to the beach which they all seemed to enjoy, especially as they found a stretch of beach where they could park the car on the edge of the sand and there was no one around apart from the odd dog walker.

I finished a pair of socks that I have been knitting for a couple of weeks. I’m really disappointed with them as they are waaaayyyy too big for me so fall off as I walk. As they were knitted on two needles this wasn’t obvious until I had finished plus they needed sewing up which is an advantage of knitting with DPNs.

I was telling Millie they were too big and she said she didn’t think daddy would want them (they are pink) so I told her I would have to find someone with bigger feet than me to give them to. “They might fit you when you’re grown up” she pointed out. Maybe I’m not as old as I feel after all!!

I’ve been having a bit more of a declutter. I’m not usually sentimental about things, especially books but there are a couple I just can’t bring myself to get rid of - one is a 14 year old copy of Miriam Stoppards pregnancy book. Even way back then when I bought it the photos were old, but I’ve referred to the baby development info every time I’ve been pregnant. The other is “breast is best” by the Stanways. I bought it when I had just had Eleanor, my first successfully breastfed baby and referred to it lots. I’m not planning any more babies so I’m not likely to need either book again but I can’t get rid of them.

I’ve a few things to get rid of though and thought I’d mention them here in case any of my readers would be interested. One is a seasonal festivity stand. You can see it at www.toyspectrum.com in the celebrations section. Mine is the natural one but if you look at the white one it gives you an idea of what you can do with it. It has holes to hang decorations from as well as larger holes for candles and the decorations from the birthday rings. As you can see it is almost £50. Mine has mainly sat on the shelf gathering dust so I’d like £30 for it.

Also 17 balls of Twilleys Freedom 100% wool in Moorland which is a heathery shade of greens and purples (I made the felted slippers a few pages back from it). A couple of the balls have been knitted so will need to be frogged. Plus a pattern book. £25.

And the following books:
Books from AIMS -
Am I allowed?
Choosing a home birth (Pat Thomas).
Safety in childbirth (Marjorie Tew),
Delivering your placenta, the third stage.
What’s right for me?
Birthing your baby, the second stage.

Also - not from AIMS - MMR understand your choices (Sussman)
All of them £2.50 each plus postage.

Your birth rights by Pat Thomas. Unread but one of my children knocked a glass of water over near it so some of the pages are watermarked. £5.00
The breastfeeding answer book by Jack Newman - £25
Why vegan - £3.00
A-Z of animal ingredients - £3.00
School is not compulsory - £3.00
Mothering your nursing toddler - £3.00
Three in a bed - £3.00
Do not disturb - £4.50


Email me at foreverj2 at aol dot com rather than leaving a response here if interested.

Photos

I uploaded some photos to go with my last post but they got lost somewhere so here they are. Alfie on his birthday and Barney wearing an outfit I made. I quite like it and as it was so easy I might make him another one.

Birthday boy

I can’t believe it’s been so long since I last posted!! I’m not sure what happened - the first week I just didn’t feel like posting anything anywhere, was just feeling too negative, and then I just didn’t get round to it.

Since last time we’ve had Alfie’s birthday. He was 3 - where did the time go??? I think he had a lovely day. He liked his presents - a wooden bus, an Ostheimer duck family and 3 books. I didn’t get round to making him a pond for them. He also had the cake he desperately wanted - In the Night Garden. He was so pleased with it that it was worth the £8. We haven’t had a good track record with birthday cakes in the past. I don’t make them, I prefer to buy them, but we’ve always had trouble finding the one the birthday child wanted. One year we were going to get Ellie a Blue’s Clues cake and the week before her birthday we saw one in the local supermarket but decided to buy it closer to the big day. Of course we went in the following week and couldn’t see one on the shelf. When we asked we were told “oh, we stopped selling them last week”

Last week I went to Peterborough with a friend. If you read her blog then you’ll already know we had a bit of an adventure trying to get back to the car which included me getting locked out of the car park while she was shut inside with the babies. If not here is the story (and it’s a lovely blog too).

I bought some Amy Butler fabric in John Lewis to make a changing bag but I haven’t got round to starting it yet - have been trying to finish the things I cut out several weeks ago. Just got a pair of trousers to go and then I can get cutting. I am slightly nervous as it wasn’t cheap fabric but it should hopefully be nice. I also bought some packs of interfacing and wonderweb only to discover I obviously thought I needed to stock up last time I was in there as I already had a couple pf packs of each in my box. I really must check what I actually need before I go in future!!!!!

What else? I can’t remember now. I’m sure I had loads of things to post in my head but they’ve gone now.

The children are all well. Barney/Amos/whatever we’re going to call him is having a really miserable time right now. I have no idea what is wrong with him. Part of me wonders if it’s teeth, or tummy ache, or just that he is one of those miserable babies. He has slept in his cot for the last few nights and has managed to go for fairly long stretches of sleep (4 or 5 hours) so we’re obviously disturbing him when he’s in our bed.

Oh, and talking of beds, we put Alfie’s new bed up in Jack’s room. Jack had been adamant he didn’t want Alfie in his room or this other bed in there but given the chance to help daddy he was very enthusiastic. Alfie hadn’t been keen on the idea of a big boys bed either but again, when he saw it he changed his mind.

The plan was that we would assemble the bed now to give Jack chance to get used to it and then try Alfie in there over the summer holidays but of course he wanted to sleep in there that night. They were still messing around at midnight and when they eventually did go to sleep they were both in the same bed - which was very cute! We’re not trying it again until the school holidays!!

Poor little Jack is seeing a speech therapist again because he’s developed a really severe stammer. It started before his birthday last year and would go in phases of being bad for a couple of weeks and then disappear for a few more weeks, then come back again. Now it’s all the time. Some days are better than others and it’s only the odd thing he stumbles over but other days are so bad he can’t say anything without struggling. He’s starting to become really aware of it now as well and sometimes starts to say something and just gives up. Sophie says the children at school copy the way he speaks which is horrible and I’ve had a word with the teacher although she was very surprised when I said he has a stammer as she’s never noticed it….

It breaks my heart to hear him struggling to speak, especially knowing how cruel other people can be and knowing he will almost certainly be teased or even bullied over it. Some days I just want to cry for him. I really hope that speech therapy can help him or that he is one of those children that grows out it.

Bethany has now finished her exams and is bumming around at home. We’re hoping she will get herself a job so she can earn herself some money and give her something to do - mind you, she has been very good at keeping Alfie occupied as he loves her so much.

That’s it for now. Until next time, enjoy the sun!